The Simple Things
by Miko Kanna
Summary: Part one of the Power Play series. (Platinum AU) A new league tournament regulation prompts Anthony West out of his home and into a world where Pokemon and humans aren't all they appear. Soon enough, it becomes rather clear: the League is only the tip of the iceberg.
1. Prelude: The Former Glory

_**A/N:**_ Hello, everybody. I think I've been keeping this away for long enough, so here is my alternate gameverse of Pokemon:Power Play. Welcome to book one! This is not following the direct laws of the game, but not so much the anime either. It is probably closer to the Origin special than anything else. OC series, though there will be some canon characters (and possible plotlines) used as well.

This was inspired by a forum roleplay from a couple years back. We revived it once and it didn' go so great, so I went through the ideas I had and created this. This is a tribute to all of those guys who RPed with crappy me, in particular, a fellow called Nideous. I hope you're all right buddy, wherever you are.

Warnings: Wild Pokemon talk (not caught ones), violence, murder, cursing, poems from the games, and probably more as the story goes on.

All that said, please let me know what you think! I'm enjoying this one so far!

Edit: Also for the diversity writing challenge, prompt L19. Write a series of more than five fics, totalling over 100,000 words.

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><p><strong>Prelude: The Former Glory<strong>

_'In the beginning, there was only_

_a churning turmoil of chaos_.'

The time was early morning, perhaps an hour after sunrise, when nineteen-year-old Adrian Sellosi went into work at the Jubilife News Center. It was a morning accompanied by the squawking of his Luxio as a new Starly became hunting practice for her eager fangs. He chuckled, paying it as little mind as he always did.

"You inelegant ponce!" shrieked the bird and Luxio only purred, grinning widely. Adrian tuned out the bird Pokemon's shrieks. It would have been worse if it was a captured bird being batted around and fried by his longtime partner. The inhuman shrieks in all those were worse than any linguistic cries. If they sounded human like he did, it was somehow less meaningful.

That was according to studies on the matter. He _could_ just be a heartless bastard. Always a plausibility.

He was the average fellow, barring a name that always lingered in the back of his mind as the jeer of "_Shellos_!" because no one ever looked at a dark-skinned Sinnoh man and thought of anything else. At least, that was always what he told himself. It was all to help him sleep soundly at night.

Everyone had their skeletons. They had the right to also keep them locked up, at least according to him.

"Come _on_, Luxio!" The Pokemon growled at him through the bundle of flesh and feathers in its teeth. It had just caught the thing too. "Just bring it with you!" It wasn't like the janitors didn't already clean up Glameow furs and Burmy leaves anyway. The cub sniggered and began to drag the bird inside. Its still talons bounced and clacked and Adrian grimaced. "Don't let it bleed on the floor!"

His Luxio whined. That was the _best_ part. She lifted big, golden eyes to wobble them at him, moving to rub at his leg, bird forgotten. "Stop that! Go pick up your meal before you fry my pant leg." With a growl, the Luxio obeyed, dragging it on the linoleum to Adrian's measly first floor office. He called it an office, but at the state of it, it was probably more of a storage closet. Papers remained strewn from the weekend dump that he had forgotten to recycle in his frustration with his computer. He knelt to fold them up, hearing a familiar crunch.

"Gross."

His partner purred, slight forgiven.

An hour later, he heard the sound of someone running the coffeemaker. He wondered what the flavor was this morning. Probably Aguav with Cheri again. Eurgh. He couldn't smell it yet, at least. That stuff was murder on the nose. He would have the shut the door so Luxio didn't start clawing at his pants again. Before that, he lifted his stack of recycleable and headed towards the copy room, idly kicking the leg of his co-worker as he passed. The other grinned.

"Hey, Adey-boy, you're on note duty for today's radio broadcast over by Sphinx." The speaker pulled the papers out of the copier as Adrian groaned. Randy smiled sympathetically.

"I just had note duty Monday!" he protested, wondering if he had just gotten on his boss' bad side at the interview to get the most droll job in the business. (Not that he was sure how, considering they had known each other since being toilet-trained.) He was at least going to earn his pay, but considering the likelihood of an good story, it wasn't exactly going to be _interesting. _It never was. Journalism was just nail-biting effort and worn-out computer keys.

He said none of this aloud, however, merely sighed and went to the coffeemaker and sniffed. "Who keeps getting the Aguav?" He asked, wrinkling his nose. "I _know _we aren't exactly the _Sinnoh Times, _but do our wages say we can't get natural beans?"

Randy shrugged. "Melanie's wife is a bit of a flake. She likes the stuff."

"Arceus, strike her tastebuds down now."

Luxio hissed at Randy, but she only received a scratch behind the ears. She knew better than to do all of that. Not that knowing better really made a difference for them. She followed Adrian back into his office, watching him make a dramatic show of throwing his work supplies back into his bag.

"Think I should have stayed a trainer after all, girl?"

Luxio mewed, looking displeased with the notion.

"I'm _joking."_

"Mmrrew." The glare from her yellow eyes was not amused.

"...Sorry."

It wasn't a joke. He wanted to go back there, out into the world with few rules and savage fun. But he couldn't. Not anymore.

He limped out of his office, locking the door behind his partner.

* * *

><p>"You're early Sellosi."<p>

"Is that bad?"

His boss smiled. He was a good man, Nicholas Cherak, a bit too young for this post, too sweet for the scandals, but he meant well and smoked a nice cigarette. Now if only he would stop telling Adrian to do transcriptions, everything would be perfect.

Luxio seemed to like the man for doing just that.

"You'll be bored," he informed Adrian, stroking behind the Pokemon's ears. "David won't be here for another half-an-hour at least. Our guest came in from Johto last night."

"Why would he come here if he's a native of the blossoming Johto? Goldenrod's got a better signal." _Then again, we also don't have the Gyarados issue. _Adrian sipped his coffee, thankfully plain black. No shit sweeteners for him.

Cherak shrugged, adjusting his suit. "He's an eccentric fellow. On the phone, he told me he wanted to talk about the rising Pokemon population and the effects of harming it. Not exactly worthy of an hour-long timeslot on our little station."

"That sounds like a scientist more than an eccentric talker, sir." Good one, remembering the sir! Polite adult society was just a few steps away.

Cherak smiled ruefully, fiddling with a PokeGear menu screen. "I thought that myself until I realized we would have heard of him by now. He goes by the name of Theodore Ebony. Have you heard of the guy?" A sheepish laugh. "I may just completely out of the loop to this sort of thing."

Adrian almost spat out his coffee. He coughed for a few seconds and set down the cup. Luxio nosed it away from the edge of the table, purring with anxiety. "Yeh-yeah," he finally breathed out before his boss had to stop him from choking. "Yeah, the name rings a bell." Adrian took a quick breath, calming his heartbeat and forcing a casual tone. "But he was in the whole, ya know, child psych aspect of stuff... advocating for better trainer teaching, gym regulations, the untamed battle experience and all of that. I saw him in a magazine once. "

Cherak observed him with mild passion and Adrian fought down a flush. No, he swore to himself. Not for a promotion, not for anything.

_Remember Ariadne._

_"Skulls laugh too, darling."_

"He was," Cherak said after a moment, pulling up a vid-screen up for him to see. Adrian peered at the visual, gripping the side of the chair with one hand. Black hair streaked grey, silver eyes with a single strip of red, a rather youthful old man. The smile on his face was thin, made with his lips.

He didn't need to see anything else.

That was Theo all right.

"Blimey," he muttered. "Don't look aged a day past forty-three." Besides a few laugh lines, and the hair being a little greyer than it had been, no, Theo didn't look half-bad. _That would cramp his style… being all normal and aging like the rest of us._

"So you saw that too," Cherak said with a smile, pulling down the screen back to his Poketch. Adrian still hated those things, what had happened to good, old-fashioned watches, seriously? "Almost in his seventies, one would think the man would have slowed down in his age. Where do we get that kind of anti-aging cream?"

_From the blood of dying children. _

He kept those words quiet, going to pull out a fresh notepad. He was probably the only journalist who still used notepads anymore. "Can't say, man, don't think I've run across the guy, not even on the road." He snorted. "Not that I would imagine it, ya know, what with him being famous and old, I'd probably have to keep him from some raging Gyarados in that place by the Windworks."

He heard Cherak laugh, and suppressed a sigh of exasperation.

As Luxio nudged his hand, Adrian hoped that this interview would be over fast. He stroked his partner's mane and watched the ticking clock.

He didn't have any doubt about what he was going to hear today.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Mr. Ebony, how are you doing on this fine afternoon?"<p>

Adrian admired his superior's composure at the sight of Theodore sitting in the opposing chair. Mere minutes ago, the man had strolled in as casual as could be with David, despite the fact that the show was due to be on in ten minutes and they lacked a mic check to see if the masses would even be able to hear him.

Adrian had no doubt that they would hear him _anyway_, but it was the principle of the thing.

Pulling a strand of salt-and-pepper hair from his face, Theodore shifted himself in the chair. He did not slouch, merely adjusted his cane in his lap. "I'm very well, thank you. An early start to the day, but…" He sighed and his deep voice made it sound a low music note. "I am fortunate enough to have avoided the unfortunate touch of jetlag, unlike most of my cohorts. The hotel rooms are a mess."

Cherak laughed and Adrian scribbled, nose to the paper. As long as he didn't look up, he would be fine. There was no reason for him to be concerned.

_Just keep telling yourself that, Sellosi. _

He didn't look up, but from the corner of the room, he could feel glowing eyes on his back. _So much for today being boring…._

"... So can you tell me about your investigations in the recent changes on routes over the past few years?" Cherak said as he leaned back into his chair. "I tend to take the man-made paths whenever I can, to be honest. I've had a few too many run-ins with the Vespiquen or a really displeased Ursaring mother, for example. Looking at your recent report from _Central Solar, _you mentioned normally region-specific Pokemon were starting to show up such as the Liepard scare in Jubilife. Couldn't that be blamed on those release-happy young trainers we've been having in recent years, or even the Nostalgia radio stations?"

Theodore's smile widened minutely. "I believe they make up a small portion of the cause, yes, but the numbers don't match with just them, seeing as the Nostalgia station has a limited userbase. Very few trainers, even those breaking the rules illustrated in the Trainer Ethics Guidebook, have released their Pokemon in the past ten years that weren't arrested or rulebreakers of human crimes. So the statistics are already skewed. And those are quickly re-caught and given to other trainers, depending on the level of preconditioning. No, this is much more active. They've been in packs, swarms, rather unusual. Pokemon do not breed as fast as those advertisers pretend."

"So you think it's something else." Cherak surmised, adjusting his seat. Adrian bit his tongue so he wouldn't end up opening his mouth and saying something incriminating while the mics were on.

Theodore, however, ignored the blatant jab at being obvious and simply asked. "How much do you, and our listeners for that matter, know about the "Ceremonial Lockdown of 2017"?"

Adrian had to bite his tongue.

"Wasn't that the incident where the entirety of Kanto and Johto's population was put on freeze, no citizens in or out, no trade, etctera?" At Theodore's hum of approval, Cherak adjusted his tie. "I know a bit of it. Family history. The passages of every Trainer School textbook gloss over it most of the time."

Theodore sighed. "That's a shame, but governments do tend to run a tight ship on this sort of thing. But anyway, the phenomena we are seeing now first started there, if I have done my research correctly, not long before that very lockdown."

"Really?" Cherak leaned forward and Adrian winced, looking down so low his nose almost touched the paper.

_He's screwing with you, Cherak. Boss, you need to stop. He's got you. The truth ain't that easy._

Adrian's bottom lip was so bitten through he would be surprised if there was any of it left after the interview. Still, he kept scribbling, hoping the clock would tick faster and Theodore Ebony's eyes would just leave him the hell alone.

It eventually did end, but Theodore did not stop smiling at him whenever he could.

The interview wasn't why the man had come here at all. He had come here for Adrian.

He didn't want to know why.

* * *

><p>By the time the interview and follow-up ended, it was long past his lunch break and dangerously close to the time Adrian clocked out. Dutifully, however, he stayed to stack up his notepad papers and file them away for when he was to put the interview into the computer in the morning. He watched the mics get put away, fidgeting and dithering and feeling his long-ruined leg twinge from sitting too long in an uncomfortable plastic chair.<p>

"Hey, Adrian."

Adrian, was it? So he was off the clock? "Yeah, Nick?" He scratched the back of his head, checking the doorway every now and again to be sure Ebony was really gone.

Cherak let out a low sigh. "My throat hurts. Want to join me for a drink of Pinap?"

Adrian stared at him. "Don't you hate that garbage?"

"Always." Cherak grinned. "Still… it's better than a Honey drop. Stuff tastes like Vespiquin vomit."

"Isn't that what it is?"

"Precisely my point!"

They both laughed and Adrian slowly relaxed. His shoulders had hunched since Theodore had walked past him out of the recording booth and not gone down since. "Wait, who did you pawn locking up to?"

"He ain't pawnin' it off to nobody," grumbled the voice of one of the audio managers. "He's expecting us to do our jobs and take on the night shift of fixing the stupid podcast. That guy's microphone lost volume a couple of times. Can't let that happen when you put up the story, can we?"

"Hey, it's his fault he was almost fashionably late." Adrian managed a shaky laugh at those words and didn't resist Cherak's arm looping through his in a way that was completely unprofessional. He figured the guys didn't care and if they did, well, that was their problem.

"So, does this mean I'm driving you home?" Adrian asked with a snort.

"Yes, in that invisible car of yours with the ridiculous Rapidash power," Cherak replied, elbowing him in the ribs. Their laughter was cut short by Adrian's hair standing on end. He stopped and stared at the building, skin crawling like it wanted to jump off. "Adrian? Hey, Adey, talk to me!"

Luxio began to growl. It was a gentle noise, but no less intimidating in the darkening sky. "Hey, Nicky," Adrian said quietly. "We're gonna run like Giratina's on our asses in a hot second, okay?"

"Why?" Damn Cherak for not catching the hint.

"I've got a feeling," Adrian replied, taking his hand in a way that in any other time, would have been affectionate. "And you and me both know where my feelings go."

Cherak nodded slowly. Thank god friendship never failed, not even when one of them nearly lost a leg and the other got blown straight out of Lake Valor trying to help him. "All right, where are we going?"

"Just follow me."

He didn't think too much after that moment, just made sure he hadn't mysteriously lost his friend and made his way out of the parking lot and down the path. They only stopped at the sound of an resounding, earth shattering sensation of an explosion halfway across the city and the smell of the smoke blowing in the wind.

Adrian kept running after that, making sure he still had Cherak by his side. Of course the idiot just didn't know how to shut up.

"Adrian, what in the name of Arceus is going on here?"

Adrian shook his head. "Theodore Ebony is making a statement, and we're just the punctuation marks. Now, keep running. I'll explain later!"

An explosion. An explosion because Adrian had the power to counter it. Yes, he was after Adrian. But why now? Why, when he finally had a life of his own?

They couldn't stop running, not until there was an ocean between him and that psychopath. Cherak was disposable. He wasn't. And he wasn't going to have another Ariadne.

Not again.


	2. Chapter One: The Causality Effect

_**A/N:** _Apologies for this slow update, have been working on more things than I have fingers and we all know what that is like. That all said, here is where the story starts kicking off. Please enjoy and review if you can! Thanks so much!

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><p><em>'A young man, callow and foolish in<em>

_innocence, came to own a sword._

_With it, he smote Pokémon, which gave_

_sustenance, with carefree abandon.'_

**Chapter One: The Causality Effect**

One of the first things Anthony Maize had been told when he realized his family was falling apart at the seams was: don't take sides, they'll turn you against the other parent. (His mom and dad ruined that chance themselves. He could barely stand either of them.)

The second was not to bother crying about it, because no matter what parents said, they didn't really care what you thought about it. You were just being dragged along for the ride no matter what. So best to be alone and tough by yourself.

Over the two years since the start of the meltdown, Tony had gotten plenty of advice about what to do about it, how to deal with it, how to treat his parents over the mess, the list went on. Ultimately, he'd figured out kind of quickly that only the second piece of oh-so-intelligent commentary proved useful. The divorce ultimately had nothing to do with him, therefore there was nothing he could do about it, and to try would make things worse. At least, that was what he figured.

The first bit, while useful, had no bearing on the real world. If it did, he wouldn't be here now, in a small car with his mother. Side chosen for him, ladies and gentlemen.

"You're thinking too much again."

"Mmh," he grunted.

His mother twisted his ear, then went back to the radio. "Eloquent."

Tony regarded her with the look _she _tended to give the most stupid of her students and yawned in her general direction. Would be bad to send the car flying off the road. "We've been on boats and stuff for _hours_," he said with a bit of a sigh. "Not much to do but think."

Mom scoffed, a gesture that made her look even younger than she already did. Tony mussed his black hair into his eyes, a gesture that made her swell up like a balloon. Why did she even _care_? He wasn't going to be in Sandgem for longer than three days, if he could help it. She wouldn't have to see it "You look like a Poochyena," she told him. "Scruffy little yelper."

"Well, I ain't goin' into contests, mum," he said. She opened her mouth and he glowered. "Mom, Hoenn doesn't mean I have to be all pretty and stuff. Just cause dad showed me how don't mean much."

"Doesn't," she corrected while glancing at the GPS. "And I see your point, but… Freya seems to enjoy herself."

_And isn't that more important?_

Tony tried to ignore the nagging voice that added his mother's words for her. He hated her shoving the 'plight of the Pokemon' up his butt. Didn't him liking Pokemon count for anything? They seemed perfectly fine to him, able to blow people up and bite hands off and stuff.

Besides, the bastards could talk. What did they care? if they didn't like you, they said so. Or shot fire at you, or whatever.

in his lap, his aforementioned Eevee slept on, her little breaths tickling his hand. He pet her, smirking at the way she rolled onto her back in her sleep. Well, Freya couldn't talk, but she wasn't exactly hard to figure out.

The truck bounced and shifted, and Tony glanced at Freya's ears for the telltale twitch that something had fell and broke back there. When there was none, he shrugged and sighed. "Freya likes to fight too. We didn't name her after some myth because she hides up a tree."

"You're trying to get me to throw you out of the car, aren't you?"

Tony put a hand to his chest. "Oh mum, you wound me. Clearly," He paused to clear his throat and let her scowl. "I am just a_stupid_ teenager and _nobody_ understands me because I am too close-minded to realize that everyone does."

The woman laughed and inwardly, Tony groaned. She said that thirty times a week at a minimum. The least she could do was humor him and get angry that he was using it on her.

But it was his mother. She reacted to the dumbest shit. Or maybe she was hiding it from him on purpose. He was jolted out of thinking about that by a particularly harsh bounce. He yelped in pain as Freya awoke, her tiny claws sinking through his pants and gouging his legs. "Ow, Freya, down, sheathe, it's cool! We're stopping, the car's just stopping, cool it!" The Eevee let out tiny, agitated hisses, before settling back down. She gave him a whining purr and he scratched her ears. "Atta girl..."

"I swear she's more high-trigger than you," his mother said, voice lilting high in amusement. Tony snorted.

"I want my monopoly on that." Freya let out a crooning purr, rubbing her head against his chin. "You're not a Glameow, you," he said half heartedly. Well, she was kind of a Glameow. Then she hopped off his lap and unlocked the door. He unfolded himself from the car seat to follow, wincing in relief at the feeling of cracking bones. Tony looked up and around.

Well, he guessed his first complaint was that it wasn't Verdanturf, but he hadn't expected that in the first place. The air was salty, but not crisp, and Tony had to cough a minute to get his bearings back together. The seawater smell came into his nose again and he winced. He was gonna have to get used to that. There were way too many places in the world with that kinda air and he barely went to Slateport. He looked at the small house, front door slightly ajar and Machoke bustling around in large, cyanish blurs. That would have been downright terrifying if it weren't for the moving trucks.

He looked away, back at the blue sky and many bright roofs. Freya bounced at his foot, sniffing and yipping about at the sight of dirt paths and small houses nearby. "Girl, calm down, it's not all gonna up and walk away," he said, going to follow her. "Ma, Freya's doin' a bunk!"

"Just bring her back before the street patrols!" she called from where she was handing boxes out.

Tony shrugged and took off at a run. He guessed it was better than dawdling around watching Pokemon reconstruct a house like nothing changed.

At least, he hoped Dad wouldn't just come walking in out of nowhere while he was gone. That would be nothing anyone wanted to think about.

For a moment, Tony cursed being tall because Freya wriggled past a bush and he couldn't see her too well, sniffing so much he doubted she even noticed. He could barely see her with her nose squished on the ground and sashaying around with her bushy tail in the air until she stopped and let out a staccato of high barks. Arceus, grow a few centimeters!

"Find something cool, girl?" Maybe it was a seashell some kid left behind, or a bird Pokemon to mess with and get a bit of exercise on.

Freya yipped as he stepped into view, staring at what, at first glance, looked like a blue bird... penguin... thing. It had its flippers crossed, beak to the air. Freya sniffed at it and it swung its beak towards her head. Freya flipped back, spinning in the air to land near Tony. She crouched, knees bunched. Tony couldn't help the grin on his face.

Screw contests. Freya loved the war.

The opponent Pokemon looked offended somehow and puffed up its chest. It squawked high little noises and Tony sighed. Damn, it had a trainer, who was probably wondering where its bundle of joy was. Cause that look on its face made it look ugly as who knew what.

"Prince! Where'd you go?"

Prince? Well, _that_ was original.

Tony whistled low in the throat and Freya eased from her crouch, looking disgruntled as she scratched one ear. "I know, girl," he said with a sigh. "Some people just have no good taste in timing or naming things."

Freya gave a sniff and twitch of her ears. It was still better than when Tony's mom had tried to name_her_ Fluffykins Junior.

The bushes rustled and revealed a frowning teenager. He, or the person looked like a he, tugged a small tuft of hair back from his face, squinting a grey glare at Tony's face. "Who're you?"

Tony put his hands in his pockets, looking away. This guy was one of those in-your-face types, wasn't he? God damn, just his luck too. "Tony. Just moved her from Hoenn. She's Freya." Freya yawned. "What about you, Mr. Friendly? Got a name? Otherwise, I'll just keep making one up until I find a really good one."

The boy huffed, cheeks burning and puffing out like misshaped Poffins. "Levi," he said. "Levi Platane. Any reason you're bugging my Piplup?"

Tony shrugged. "Freya just smelled him, really," he drawled. "Wasn't bothering anybody."

Levi snorted. "Is that right?"

"There a problem?" Tony reached a hand to mess with his hair, turning unkempt loose curls to slump helplessly by his ears.

Levi shrugged and took a small step back, lip curled. "You're weird."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Everybody around here this polite? Or do people battle instead of talk?" Freya perked at the word "Battle" and Tony snickered at her. Enthusiastic bird.

Levi's face split with a grin. "Well… we tend to have better manners after a fight, I suppose," he flipped a messy bang from his face. "But maybe you're too_new_ to grasp that one."

Tony felt his lips quirk. "Not to worry, I'm a quick study. Freya!" Freya bounced and yipped, giggling mews at the sight of Prince puffing up his blue chest again. "Ready to dance, then?"

Levi snorted. "Okay, no, you're still weird. Who says that?" With a flourish of a hand, the fight began. "Bubblebeam!"

"A contest starter, that's who," Tony muttered. Okay, so he looked like a punk and slouched. Didn't make him less of a… okay, he was derailing that thought. The bubbles were bright in the sun and flying fast, and that was_way _more important than his pride right now. "Freya, right spin, Sand Attack!"

His Eevee moved to the side, spinning to kick her back legs. The dirt burst up in a cloud, striking the bubbles in messy arcs. Levi let out another bark of an order and Prince charged through the dust, flipper raised and hitting Freya in the face. Freya crouched, then rammed her head into Prince's chin. The Pokemon waddled backwards, falling on its rump. Prince shook himself, then puffed up, pulling himself up again.

"Looks like we've got a stubborn one," Tony mused aloud, grinning. "All right, Freya! Charge!"

Freya squeaked delight, rushing forward and aiming for a hit to the chest. Levi grinned in answer and Prince fired another burst of bubbles, sending Freya backpedaling into the dirt. Freya shook herself, pushing back to her feet. Her eyes glittered and then her ears twitched.

Kids were coming. They probably heard the noises or were bored. Whatever it was that gathered a crowd without paying for it. Well, the least he could do was give them a show, wasn't it? "Freya," Tony called. "Iron Tail!"

Levi's eyes widened and he shouted. "Pound!" Prince scrambled to obey, running in a waddling dash as his trainer glared at Tony. "Where the hell did you get an Eevee that knows that?"

Tony snorted. "I got her trained to, obviously." God, did no one visit Move Tutors anymore?

Freya's bushy tail glowed silver and she made a few desperate leaps on her front paws to dodge Prince's rapid flipper smacks, and one struck her in the side and sent her rolling. Prince let out delighted, mocking chirps and blew a burst of bubbles at Freya's fallen form. Tony bit his lip as they hit, throwing up dirt and sand.

For a moment, everything was quiet. Levi breathed a sigh of relief and Prince let out a proud squawk.

Then Freya went barrelling through the cloud of dust, tackling the penguin to the ground and smacking her silver, glowing tail into his face. She leaped off and smacked again. Her brown eyes were dark and angry, shrieking fury where the most her vocal cords could do was squeak.

Mentally Tony groaned, while everyone around began shooting each other looks of terror. "Freya," he called. "Back, girl. Back." What, had they never seen a Pokemon get mad before? He'd like to see them deal with being laughed at.

Freya shot him a dirty look, but stepped away, trotting back to his foot with a huff. Her fur was poofing in every direction and she limped a little. He knelt to lift her up and she grumbled, otherwise falling placid again. Levi had run to his Piplup's side, who looked dizzy and bruised but was able to get up moments later. A couple of kids shot Tony dirty looks before leaving.

Well. Good thing he wasn't staying long enough to befriend all of these right pains in the ass.

"Sorry about them," Levi said, pulling out a Pokeball and returning Prince. "Most of us don't have battles lasting past "Growl! Pound!" around here unless they're pros catching a weird wild one. They probably think you cheated."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "You think I cheated?"

Levi let out a snort. "You have an Eevee. How much can you cheat without taping a stone to her head?"

Freya let out a delighted purr and Tony held out his hand. "So, we cool now? Can we pretend we like each other for the three days I'm stuck in town?"

Levi pretended to think it over, then shook his hand, grinning. "Aw hell, why not? It'll be nice to be with a boy who doesn't look at me like I need to be locked in a bubble like the rest of those idiots." Her voice slipped on the last sentence and Tony blinked.

Well, that was interesting. "They think you're a princess," he tried and Levi let out a bark of a laugh.

"Or something."

They both laughed and Tony felt himself relax a little. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

He thought that, and then Freya let out a sudden yelp. She squirmed and wriggled away from them both, growling at something they couldn't see in the dying sunlight.

"Probably just the Bidoof," Levi said, waving her hand.

Tony stepped closer. "You heard her, girl," he started, but Freya hopped from his grip, still yipping and growling in agitation. He followed her eyes and saw a shadow moving beneath a tree.

"I think that's too big to be a Bidoof pack."

Levi shifted. "I… I think we should get the professor."

"What about the police?"

"They're all investigating an explosion in Jubilife. The route's all out of order." She shifted from foot to foot. "I'll get Rowan. Don't, uh, do anything stupid."

Unfortunately, Tony had every intention of doing something stupid. It was kind of his modus operandi.

"Freya, darlin', wanna go on an adventure?"

Freya hissed.

"That's my partner." He took a cautious step forward. "Hey," Tony called. "You all right over there?"

There was no answer and really, Tony hadn't expected one. He made a gesture and the two of them stepped forward again. The shadowed figure didn't move. Maybe it was a dead body or something. Did little towns have forensic departments? Probably not.

Freya moved ahead of him in little hops, pausing just far enough away that she could turn tail and hide if whatever it was moved, but close enough to see it. Tony caught up to her and stared blankly at what, at first glance, looked like a purple blob.

He squinted. "Freya… that a human in that goop?"

Freya sniffed, nodded.

Tony groaned. "What the heck is goin' on…?" He moved closer to the blob and examined. It was a person all right, early twenties, probably male. The tint of the goo made it hard to tell but the guy was breathing, face pale, blood on the clothes by the look of things.

Tony cast his gaze to the area around the tree. Droplets of blood dotted the nearby dirt, leading off through the route, whatever route he was on now. The trail was thin and Freya hopped to chase it down, dodging little blood pebbles with more grace than she had the Piplup's attacks. He trailed to the side, now looking around. It was so quiet, the route was rather still. Probably because it was getting dark, but still.

They hopped down a ledge and reached a parted area of trees. In retrospect, Tony figured it was probably a bad idea to leave that guy without supervision, but there was blood, which meant there had to be someone else. Probably injured too. He was just doing this to cover his bases. Yeah. That was it.

Freya was letting out tiny growls and Tony was half tempted to quiet her but he doubted she posed much of a threat anyway.

Soon enough, they reached the clearing and the sight there made him actually stop and gape.

"What the hell is this?"


End file.
